Sports News | Swiss Prospect Stricker Beats Cilic in ATP Tour Debut
Get latest articles and stories on Sports at LatestLY. With Roger Federer watching his ATP tour debut, 18-year-old Swiss prospect Dominic Stephan Stricker beat former U.S. Open champion Marin Cilic 7-6 (5), 6-1 Tuesday in the first round of the Geneva Open.
Geneva, May 18 (AP) With Roger Federer watching his ATP tour debut, 18-year-old Swiss prospect Dominic Stephan Stricker beat former U.S. Open champion Marin Cilic 7-6 (5), 6-1 Tuesday in the first round of the Geneva Open.
Stricker, last year's French Open junior champion, is ranked 419th. Cilic, who won his only Grand Slam singles title in 2014, is ranked 46th.
The Swiss left-hander had nine aces and no double-faults. He broke Cilic's serve four times and was broken only twice.
"I was getting nervous," Stricker said. "It was actually OK until 5-1, 30-love. I was happy to finish it at 6-1 and not serve again."
Stricker has practiced previously with Federer, who watched some of the play before following him on court in a second-round match against Pablo Andujar.
Stricker's next opponent will be 40th-ranked Marton Fucsovics. The winner could face the top-seeded Federer in the quarterfinals. (AP)
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)